SWEDES: TheWayTheyWere
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    • The Bethany Artist & the Bethany Scientist: Lydia & Emil ------------------------- \\// >
      • Their 1869 Swedish Lutheran Galesburg Colony and Olsson Colony Smoky Valley Arrivals, ~ With a Galesburg account by Mr. Holmquist >
        • Their Värmland Swedes ~ The "First Swedish Agricultural Company" Lindsborg Founders, 1868, ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
          • Swedish Pastor Olof Olsson Emigrating to Lindsborg 1869, June 27th Arrival ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
            • Bethany Lutheran Church and Lindsborg Founder Pastor Olsson, 1869 - 1876 ~ An account by Dr..Lindquist
      • Their 1869 "Bethany Lutheran Church" ~ Accounts by Dr. Lindquist and Mr. Carlson >
        • ​Their 1860-1962 "Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod" ~ Gaining and losing its Swedish identity >
          • The 1860 Formation of the Augustana Synod ~ An Account by Mr. Holmquist
          • Their 1892 "Augustana Women's Missionary Society" ~ An account by Ms. Humphrey
          • The 2000 - 2016 "Augustana Heritage Association"
      • Their 1907 "Bethany Lutheran Home" ~ Accounts by Bethany Home Writers >
        • 1976 Lindsborg’s Bethany Home’s Swedish King's Visit ~ An account by Mr. Carlson's
      • Their 1909 and 1919 Swedish Smoky Valley Community Chronicles ~ Compiled and written by Bethany Lutheran Church Rev. Dr. Alfred Bergin, members and others >
        • 1909 translated to "Pioneer Swedish-American Culture in Central Kansas," 1965 ~ By Mrs. Bergin Billdt
        • 1919 translated to "The Smoky Valley in The After Years," 1969 ~ By Mrs. Bergin Billdt & Mrs. Jaderborg
      • Their 1910 Messiah Lutheran Church conducting services in English ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
        • ~ An account on the Messiah Lutheran Church formation from Rev. Dr. Alfred Bergin's 1909 ​"Pioneer Swedish-American Culture of Central Kansas"
      • Their 1919 Lindsborg Historical Society's "Coronado Heights" ~ Emil's 1907 thesis and Lydia's photographs >
        • The ​1919 formation of the "Lindsborg Historical Society" ~ The Smoky Hills' "Smoky Hill" christened "Coronado Heights" May 8, 1924 >
          • Lindsborg's Coronado Heights History ~ Three accounts by Mrs. Jaderborg >
            • Coronado and Bethany College Museum" History ~ An account from Dr. Lungstrom
      • Their 1916 Sohlberg House ​ ~ 322 North First [College] Street ~After their honeymoon
      • Their 1920 Old Main Apartments of Bethany College ~ Living on campus with the students for 20 years
      • Their 1940 Deere Home to 1943 ​~ 344 North First [College] Street ~ With new occupants after Lydia
      • Their 1936 1873 Swedish Homestead," "Our Peaceful Acres" >
        • Their 1873 Swede House ~ A close twin of Founder Rev. Olof Olsson's stone house >
          • Peaceful Acres Smoky Valley descendant friends and helpers ~ Honoring them and remembering them
      • 1943, after Lydia, Emil's part in the building of the Lindsborg Community Hospital ~ An account by Dr. Lungstrom
    • Their "1881" Bethany Academy 1882 "First Building" in 2022 ~ Its foundational importance to Bethany College ~ Its 1969 move to the Old Mill Museum Heritage Park
    • Their 1882-1966 Deere's Swensson's "Bethany College Museum" >
      • The 1966 Bethany College Museum Collections Move to the Old Mill Museum ~ Dr. Leon Lungstrom's Role >
        • Articles on the Bethany College Museum Collections Move of 1966
      • Deere's Swensson's Bethany College Museum Collections ~ to 1966
    • Their “1882 on . . .” Bethany College Handel’s “Messiah" Performances” >
      • "Messiah" Performers, Venues & Audiences, Press and Broadcasts >
        • Special 20th Century "Messiah" Performances
      • Handel's "Messiah" & Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" ~ Described for viewers unfamiliar with these oratorios
    • Their “1899 on . . .” Bethany College “Swedish Artists’ Midwest Art Exhibition” ​~ An account by the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery
    • Their “1902 on . . .” Bethany College ‘Terrible Swedes,’ Their “1903 on” ‘Rockar Stockar’ ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist
    • Their “1904 on . . .” Bethany College St. Louis World's Fair “Swedish Pavilion”
    • Their "1895 to 1981" Bethany College Anniversary Celebrations ~ 15, 20, 25, 100 years >
      • Their Celebrating 15 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1896. The First Bethany Annual, 1895-96
      • Their Celebrating 20 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1901. The "Forget-Me-Not," 1902 >
        • The King of Sweden's Emissary, 1901
        • Yale University's Bethany Club
      • Their Celebrating 25 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1906, "Souvenir of Lindsborg and Bethany College"
      • Their Celebrating 100 Years of Bethany College, 1881-1981, "The Centennial of Bethany College"
    • Their "1937" Bethany College's Introduction to New Sweden ~ Founded in 1638 >
      • Deere's Introduction to New Sweden
  • Swedish Immigration Story, 1854
    • "The Story of the Old Spoon" by Ingrid Anderson Sohlberg & Daughter Lydia Sohlberg Deere, 1937
    • Who They Left Behind
    • From Sweden with Love Collections >
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Kosta Portraits, 1867 >
        • The Swedish Sohlberg Kosta Glass
        • The Swedish Sohlberg Letters
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Royal Gold Thread Embroidery Sampler (c1890s)
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Post Cards (c1890s)
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Magazines, (c1940s)
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Books, 1819/1886 to 1899
      • The Swedish Sohlberg Albums, ~ Late 19th early 20th centuries
      • The Swedish Deere Coins -- 1801-1929
  • Artist Lydia Sohlberg Deere
    • Lydia's Lindsborg Photography, 1900-1925 >
      • The Hats
      • The Smoky River
      • The Smoky Hills >
        • Coronado Heights -- One Winter's Day
      • In and Around Lindsborg
      • Sohlberg House with Parents >
        • Our Sohlberg Home and Neighbor Alma Luise Olson
      • Sohlberg House with Emil 1916 to 1920 >
        • Lydia's Travels with Deere 1916 - 1930s >
          • Lydia's California Photographs for Painting
          • Lydia's Palm Springs Pictorial Magazine, 1938-1939
          • Lydia's California Pressed Wild Flowers, c1930
      • "LYDIA'S WORLD" Photography Exhibitions in Lindsborg, 2005 - 2011
    • Lydia as Bethany College Lane Hart Hall Dean of Women, 1906 - 1913 >
      • Lydia's Signatured Black Book of Her Handwritten Sewing Instructions >
        • Nina Sohlberg's Child's Sewing "Little Dots" PICTURE BOOK
      • Lydia Sohlberg Deere's 1927 "Lindsborg Swedish Club's" Handwork >
        • The Lindsborg Swedish Club's "Allers Monster-Tidnings" magazine, 1940
    • Lydia's Art, 1919-1938 >
      • Lydia's Art: The Kansas Collection >
        • The Sketches
      • Lydia's Art: The Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico Collection >
        • The Sketches
      • Lydia's Art: The California Collection >
        • The Sketches
        • Lydia's "Palm Springs Magazine " 1938-39
    • Lydia's Art Professor Sven Birger Sandzén, 1871-1954 >
      • Lydia's Assignments for Professor Sandzén >
        • Students of Sandzén 2019 Exhibition
        • Bethany Home ~ Celebrating Artist Birger Sandzén through his students' paintings
    • Lydia's Art Professor Birger Sandzén's "Art Exhibitions" and "Reviews" .. 1893-1940 >
      • Lydia's Art Professor Sandzén's Exhibition at the Babcock Gallery in New York, 1922
      • Lydia's Sandzén's Body of Work Reviewed by N.Y.C, 1984 "American Impressionism," author William H. Gerdts
    • Lydia's and Sandzén's Swedish Artist Friend Charles Edward Hallberg, 1855-1940
    • Lydia's and Sandzén's Swedish Artist Friend Oscar Brousse Jacobson, 1882-1966
    • Lydia’s Sohlberg Family Connection to Sandzén, 1880-1894-1993
  • Scientist Emil O. Deere
    • Deere & Lydia's Bethany -- Lydia's Photography, 1906-1925 >
      • Bethany College "Campus from Above"
      • Bethany College "The Gateway," 1917 and "Bethany Campus Association," 1912
      • Bethany College "College Street," today's "North First Street"
      • Bethany College "Campus Life"
      • Bethany College "Field Trips"
      • Bethany College's "Earliest Buildings" >
        • Bethany College "​Ladies Dormitory" / "Lane Hart Hall" 1883 - 1899 - 1983
        • Bethany College "Old Main" 1887-1968 >
          • Lydia's and Emil's Old Main Apartments, 1920 to 1940
          • Deere's Bethany College Classes in Old Main
        • Bethany College "Messiah Auditorium" / "Ling Auditorium" / "Ling Gymnasium" 1895 - 1946
        • Bethany College "Swedish Pavilion," 1904
        • Bethany College "​Carnegie Library" / "Bethany Library" 1908 - 1980
        • Bethany College "​Bethany Academy" 1882 -- Swensson's Bethany's Beginnings
    • Deere's 1959 Interview on Rev. Dr. Carl A. Swensson (On YouTube) >
      • Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, 1857-1904 ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
        • Swensson's "Bethany Lutheran Church" and the "Augustana Lutheran Synod"
        • Swensson's Bethany's Beginnings: "The Bethany Academy of 1882"
        • Olsson's Influence, the Swenssons,' the Musicians' and Singers,' "Messiah," 1882 on … >
          • Thure Olof Jaderborg ~ One Lindsborg "Messiah" Commitment from 1901-1954
        • Swensson's Swedish Artists of the 1890s
        • Swensson's "Bethany College Museum," 1882 - 1966
      • In Memorium**Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson, 1904 ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist
    • Deere's Rev. Dr. Ernst F. Pihlblad, 1873-1943 ~ An account by Dr. Lindquist >
      • In Memoriam**Dr. Ernst F. Pihlblad, 1943
      • Rev. Dr. Pihlblad on Bethany College, 1904 - 1941
    • Deere's Swensson's "Bethany College Museum" 1882-1966 >
      • Deere's Dr. Lungstrom's Bethany College "Museum" Chapter >
        • Deere's Swensson's Bethany College Museum Collections ~ to 1966 >
          • Cliff Dwellers' Pottery Collection ~ from Old Main to Sandzén Memorial Art Gallery, 1966
          • Fossils Collection ~ from Old Main to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum, 1966, ~ “The Find”
          • Taxidermy Collection ~ from Old Main to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum, 1966
          • 900 Item Emil O. Deere Pioneer Collection ~ from Old Main to the McPherson County Old Mill Museum, 1966
    • Deere's Smithsonian Institution's Souvenir, 1904
    • Deere's 1940 Presidential Address to the Kansas Academy of Science
    • Deere's 1955 Letter to President Eisenhower re Tuttle Creek
    • Deere's Service, 1901-1966 >
      • Deere's Education & Degrees
    • The Deere's Library ~ What remains of 2,000 books -- pending project
  • "The Other Swedes"
    • Honoring Them and Remembering Them ~ The Smoky Valley Writers >
      • A suggestion to individuals and entities in charge of these books ~ ​Digitalize for posterity and perpetuity
      • Rev. Bror Carlsson and Mr. Alf Brorson from Sweden ~ Tracing Värmland's Rev. Olof Olsson's church life in Sweden and in Swedish America with the Augustana Lutheran Synod >
        • ​"He Gave God Glory" "The Story of Olof Olsson, ​" 1841 - 1900 ~ By Rev. Bror Carlsson
      • Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson ~ Author of countless Swedish & English publications, newspapers articles & books for local, national & European readers
      • Bethany Church, Bethany College, Augustana Synod Writers ​~ Remembering Rev. Dr. Carl Aaron Swensson and Rev. Dr. Ernst Frederick Pihlblad
      • Rev. Dr. Alfred Bergin ​~ Compiling foundational Swedish Smoky Valley Augustana Lutheran settlements' histories and more
      • Dr. Emory K. Lindquist ~ Chronicling Swedish Augustana Lutheran Lindsborg and Bethany College from their earliest years >
        • ​1953, "Smoky Valley People, A History of Lindsborg, Kansas" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist and Contents & Illustrations
        • 1975 "Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist >
          • "Bethany in Kansas" PART I ~ Contents & Illustrations
          • "Bethany in Kansas" PART II ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1984 "Hagbard Brase, Beloved Music Master" ~ The Words of Dr. Lindquist >
          • "Hagbard Brase" ~ Contents and Illustrations
      • Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg [Selma Lind] ​ ~ Chronicling the Lindsborg of her day, its early histories, its early citizens >
        • 1965 "Lindsborg On Record" ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1967 "Living in Lindsborg and Other Possibilities" ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1973 "Talk About Lindsborg" ~ Contents & Illustrations
        • 1976 "Why Lindsborg?" ~ Contents & Illustrations >
          • 1975 Why Lindsborg ~ For the King of Sweden
        • ​1990 "Two Reprints" ~ Contents & Illustrations Lists
      • ​Dr. Leon Lungstrom ~ Chronicling Bethany College's earliest science and math professors, museum curators, collectors and collections, college curriculum, Old Main, and Nelson Science Hall >
        • The Bethany College Museum by Leon Lundstrom ~ The Words of Dr. Leon Lungstrom
        • ​1990 "History of Natural Science and Mathematics at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas" ~ The Compilations and the Words of Dr. Lungstrom >
          • "History of Natural Science and Mathematics . . ." The Table of Contents
          • Tabulation of Teachers and Assistants in Natural Sciences and Mathematics
          • References from: Lindsborg News-Record;" "Bethany Messenger;" "Bethany Daisy" &/OR "Bethanian;" "Bethany Magazine" -- pending project
      • Mr. Thomas N. Holmquist ~ Chronicling Lindsborg's neighbors, the Galesburg Swedes of Salemsborg and Freemount, with a personal connection, 1868
      • Mr. Bill Carlson ~ Chronicling Lindsborg's earliest and later histories, with a personal connection, 1867
      • Ms. Karen A. Humphrey ~ Chronicling highlights of Swedish Augustana Lutheran Lindsborg and Bethany College culture in the earliest years >
        • 2012 "Grace, Faith and the Power of Singing: The Alma Christina Lind Swensson Story" ~The Words of Ms. Humphrey
        • "Grace, Faith and the Power of Singing" ~ Contents & Illustrations
      • Mr. A. John Pearson ~ Chronicling the Bethany College Presidents from 1882 to 1983
      • Mr. Kenneth Sjogren ~ Chronicling the Bethany College Presidents from 1941 to 2016
      • Mr. Chris Abercrombie ~ Remembering him as "The Historian," the SVHA president and his body of work
      • Rev. Eugene K. Nelson and the Bethany Home Writers ~ Chronicling the "only known" Smoky Valley story on Bethany Home since 1907
      • Smoky Valley Historical Association Members ~ Chronicling 1993 " Where Did They Live? " "Early Residences of Lindsborg, Kansas"
    • Honoring Them and Remembering Them ---- \\// >
      • Mrs. Alma Christina Lind Swensson ~ Remembering her as Mrs. Rev. Dr. Swensson, the "First Lady" of Lindsborg, organizer of the "Messiah Chorus" and much more ~ From ​Ms. Humphrey's Book
      • ​Samuel Thorstenberg ~ Remembering him as the "earliest" internationally acclaimed Bethany College "Messiah Chorus" conductor
      • Dr. Hagbard Brase ~ Remembering him as the second "earliest" internationally acclaimed Bethany College "Messiah Chorus" conductor
      • B.G. Gröndal ~ Remembering him and his photography in the earliest years of Lindsborg and Bethany College >
        • B.G. Gröndal ~ Accounts by Mr. Abercrombie and Mrs. Jaderborg with LINK to Mrs. Eddy, B.G.'s granddaughter's book review
      • International "NY Times" Correspondent Miss Alma Luise Olson ~ Remembering her as "First Honored American Woman by Sweden" ~ An account by ​Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg* >
        • ​​Miss Alma Luise Olson ~ Remembering her and the extraordinary life she led at home and abroad ~ An account by Ms. Karen A. Humphrey
      • Artist Birger Sandzén ~ Remembering him for "sharing his art with the world," starting "first" at Lindsborg's Bethany College >
        • Dr. & Dr. Mrs. Charles Greenough III ~ Remembering them for their gift of the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery -- pending
      • William Holwerda, M.D. ~ Remembering him as "Doc Bill," a city father and loving citizen, by Dr. Leon Lungstrom and Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg >
        • "Svensk Hyllningsfest" ​ ~ Remembering Dr. William Holwerda as a founder and "the key" organizer in 1941
        • Dr. William Holwerda ~ Remembering their family doctor and Messiah Lutheran Church tributes to him by Dr. Leon Lungstrom
      • Artist Lester Raymer ~ Remembering him as the renowned virtuoso artist and "behind the scenes" community supporter
      • Dr. Arvin W. Hahn ​​~ Remembering him for saving Bethany College from going under!​ >
        • Dr. Arvin W. Hahn ~ Remembering him handing me my Bethany College Diploma on Sunday, May 26, 1968
      • Dr. ​& Mrs. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering them and their 29 years of dedication to that Bethany College "Messiah" tradition of excellence >
        • 1976 Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the “Messiah” conductor for the Bethany College "Swedish King’s," Carl XVI Gustaf's, performance >
          • 1981 Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the "Messiah" conductor for the Bethany College "Centennial Celebration" performance >
            • 1986 Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the televised "American Easter" conductor of the Bethany College Oratorio Society Holy Easter Week
      • Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg ~ Remembering her as the founder of the 1963 "Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers" ~ An account by Mr. Chris Abercrombie
      • Mr. & Mrs. Hilding Jaderborg ~ Remembering them and their “Swedish Crafts Shop” of 65 years and 50 trips to Sweden
      • The Swedish Lindsborg Builders ~ Remembering them for the lovely homes they built
      • Mr. Chris Abercrombie ~ Remembering him for "first" shining an international light on Lindsborg and Bethany College, via YouTube
      • Dr. Greta Swenson and Mr. & Mrs. Mark Esping ~ Remembering them for founding Lindsborg's “first” "Swedish-American Folklife Institute of Central Kansas," 1986 >
        • Remembering their Lindsborg's Folklife Institute's "Swedish-American Heritage Center," 1996
      • Mr. Claude Koehn ~ Remembering him as restorer and preservationist of Smoky Valley stone farmhouses and other stone structures
      • Ms. Rebecca Copley ~ Remembering her as Bethany College's “first” graduate to become an International Concert & Opera Soprano >
        • Ms. Copley's "International Concert and Opera Soprano" ​~ The REVIEWS
      • Mr. Bruce Karstadt ~ Honoring him as a Bethany College graduate for heading up a major national Swedish American institution
      • Dr. Mark Lucas ~ Messiah conductor bringing the Lindsborg “Oberammergau of the Plains" to a "new" world audience
    • 1882 - 1966 Bethany College Museum Science Professor Curators ​~ Their earliest collectors
    • 1894-1962 Bethany College Graduates in Augustana Lutheran Synod World Mission Work ~ An account by Dr. Emory K. Lindquist
    • 1901-2014 The ​Bethany College Swedish Knights and Ladies ~ Honored by the Kings of Sweden
    • ​​1919 "Lindsborg Historical Society's" Earliest Leaders and Members >
      • 1963 "Smoky Valley Historical Association" (SVHA) leaders and members ​~ Some historical and cultural promotion and preservation projects
    • 1961-2021 ​"McPherson County Old Mill Museum" leaders ~ Moving forward in August 2021 as "The Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum"
    • 1971 -2020 "American Scandinavian Association of the Great Plains" leaders ~ Providing cultural history and heritage programs with meaningful links to Sweden and Swedish America
    • 1976 His Majesty the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf's Visit to Lindsborg April 17th >
      • The Lindsborg & Bethany College "Swedes" ~ Honored by the King of Sweden, June 6, 1976
    • 1977​ Swedish Emigrant Institute Staff from Växjö, Småland Visits Lindsborg October 16-18
    • 1978 Swedish Documen- tary Film Crew Visits Lindsborg October 2-9 >
      • "Lindsborg News-Record" Clippings of 1978 Swedish Film Crew Visit
    • 1992 - 2020 ​Honoring Them and Remembering Them ~ Their ​Smoky Valley History Research Writers Website Designers
  • Contacts
    • For 1869 Lindsborg CONTACT Today >
      • "A Time to Remember" 1882 - 1988
    • ​For 1881 Bethany College CONTACT Today >
      • "Bethany Campus Walk” ~ Remembering the buildings and the "Bethany Family" of their era, 1882 - 2015
      • Their "I WAS THERE" Coin ~ Bethany College 21st Year Celebration, 1902
    • For 1957 Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery CONTACT Today >
      • Sandzén: "Ecstasy of Color" ~ PBS Doucmentary ~ Aired 6/11/21
    • Closing Remarks >
      • Traveling through SWEDES ​~ The Table of Contents ~ The "Outline" "Online"
      • SWEDES' Swedish American Legacy Photographs >
        • ​Lydia's Lindsborg Photography​, ​1900 - 1925 >
          • Lydia's Bethany College Photography, ​1906 - 1925
    • Kansas Smoky Valley Swedish People's Memorial, 2009 ~ The virtual one >
      • In real time, the real 1941 memorial, the "Pioneer Cross" ​~ Created by Messrs. Lindholm and Oberg
"The Other Swedes"
​~ Honoring Them and Remembering Them ~

Dr. Mark Lucas
~ Messiah conductor bringing the Lindsborg “Oberammergau of the Plains" to a "new" world audience
Twenty-first century Lindsborg's Bethany College Oratorio Society Messiah Festival twenty-eighth conductor Dr. Mark Lucas will go down in college history as the conductor who presented the "first" Presser Hall Copley Stage live Messiah performance worldwide through the technology of live streaming due to the national mandates of the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic. 

​This 2020 Messiah Festival Holy Easter Week performance had to be postponed to October 18, 2020, and, when performed, it was severely modified at all levels, down from over 200 chorus members to 28, and from a full orchestra of about 45 or so, to only 15, with social distancing in place and all performers wearing masks.  However, Dr. Lucas conducted these performers beautifully through the sacred music with its profound Holy message! 

​This performance was strictly from a "new" world stage to a "new" world audience, all due to live streaming.


In 2021, the Messiah Festival performance of the Messiah was able to return to its traditional Easter Sunday schedule even though the Pandemic continued.  Once again, with masks being worn and social distancing in place, a chorus of 100 was scattered throughout the Presser Hall audience in their voice sections.  Similarly, a full orchestra was scattered upon the Copley Stage in their instrument sections.  Dr. Lucas, on stage between chorus and orchestra conducting back and forth, once again presented a much needed and beautifully inspirational Handel's Messiah, to, this time, a very limited but grateful Lindsborg audience, and to that "still new" world audience, due to live streaming. 

Thus, this pandemic live streaming debut began a new and exciting chapter for the Lindsborg Bethany College Oratorio Society Messiah, the “Oberammergau of the Plains," as it was titled in the 1944 Reader's Digest article which noted that the Messiah Festival was called by critics ”the finest of its kind in the world.”   For through live streaming, it can now reach those Swedish Lutheran and Swedish American Lutheran audiences of today, so familiar with its historical significance to the Lutheran Swedish America of the past, where thousands of patrons gathered and choruses grew to 500 or more, while press reviews raved so much, especially, during the tenures of conductors Mr. Samuel Thorstenberg, Dr. Hagbard Brase, and Dr. Elmer Copley, from the end of the 19th century into the late 20th century.  

​
Yet on a global scale now in this 21st century, the opportunity is available to share annually the Lindsborg Bethany College Easter Handel's Messiah, and the Good Friday Bach's masterpiece, The Passion of our Lord According to St. Matthew, St. Matthew Passion, that became part of the Messiah Festival tradition in 1925, and since the 1929 new rendition by Dr. Brase that debuted for the dedication of Presser Hall on Good Friday (that coincided exactly with the 200th anniversary of its debut by Bach at St. Thomas' Church, in Leipzig, Germany, from where this great composer conducted it on Good Friday in 1729).

When Smoky Valley history looks back on the pandemic era, Dr. Lucas may be looked upon by some that his greatest contribution to the tradition of the Messiah Festival Holy Easter Week performances was that of his determination that "the show must go on!"  For this annual Messiah performance has yet to miss a year, the tradition of which began in 1882.  Thus, it remains the longest annual running performance of the “Messiah” in North America.

​In Lindsborg, as a tenor, Dr. Lucas began participating in the Messiah performances in high school and then at Bethany College where he would receive a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education in 1994.  There he became well-versed in the history of the Messiah and Saint Matthew Passion performance traditions.  Holding past teaching and professor positions in music at the Kansas Marion Unified School District and at Kansas Wesleyan University respectively, as a published and tenured professor in music education and choral activities from the University of Oklahoma (OU) at Norman, Oklahoma, Dr. Lucas began his Bethany College career in 2013 becoming the Oratorio Society Conductor for the Messiah Festival, of which he became the Artistic Director, after the Easter of that year.  He is  Associate Professor of Music and serves as a Co-chairman of the Music Department.  He is also the conductor of the Bethany College Choir and Bethany College Chamber Ensemble and serves as the Director of the Oratorio Society and Choral Activities.  He teaches voice, conducting and music education courses.  
The quality of his oratorio performances truly touches the hearts of his known audiences in the Kansas Smoky Valley and with others from coast to coast!  While sharing the College's Messiah and Saint Matthew Passion historical performances of excellence with his students, he grooms them and others for their own Oratorio Society performances of excellence!  Before the Pandemic, this was so apparent when one COMPARES Dr. Lucas' Easter Sunday 2015 Handel's Messiah's "Worthy is the Lamb" and "Amen" chorus performance Here, with London's 2020 "Royal Choral Society" performance Here, and with Salt Lake City's 2014 "Mormon Tabernacle Choir" Here!    This shows that like those legendary Lindsborg Bethany College conductors of the past that Dr. Lucas, also, is committed to that ongoing "Messiah" performance tradition of excellence. 

After graduating from Bethany, at the University of Oklahoma Dr. Lucas earned a Masters Degree in Choral Conducting in 1999, and, later in 2007 from OU, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy Degree with his dissertation on "Adolescent Males’ Motivation to Enroll or Not Enroll in Choir."   In 2015, he traveled to Kyoto, Japan, to participate in the Poster Session at the International Symposium on "Performance Science" where he presented portions of his dissertation.  In that same year he introduced the College to its first "Real Men Sing Festival" that has become an annual festival where in 2020, just before the Pandemic hit, he conducted an impressive chorus of 800 students, from grades five through twelve, to perform in Presser Hall for this festival.  

Before joining the Bethany faculty in 2013, Dr. Lucas could have appropriately been addressed as "a European traveling conductor."  For he made three significant European tours.  In June of 2004, as the conductor for the choir of the Kansas Ambassadors of Music consisting of more than 100 high school students, he co-conducted their performances throughout seven countries over a 17 day period.  Then in August of 2010 for 12 days, with members of the University of Oklahoma choirs, he served as Chorusmaster under the direction of OU Conductor and Artistic Director Dr. Richard Zielinski in Austria at the renown Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt.  The works he conducted there with a professional orchestra were Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Te Deum and Missa in Tempori Belli by Franz Joseph Haydn.  In May of 2011 with the University of Oklahoma Touring Choir, he co-conducted this ad hoc ensemble comprised of current students and alumni at various impressive and beautiful venues throughout the South of France, including Theatre of Gray with the Chorale de Dampierre, Lyon Basilica, Etang des Aulnes, Basilica of St. Maximin, Menton, Villfranche sur Mer. 

His most recent European tour was in May of 2018.  This was his first with the Bethany College Choir and the Bethany College Handbell Ensemble.  It was joined by some college friends and alumni as well.  The tour was to Germany, the home of Martin Luther (1483-1546), the Protestant Reformation, and classical composers including George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Richard Wagner (1813-1883), and Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).  While in Germany, they visited the home of the Messiah's composer Handel which is now a museum in the city of Halle; and they were also honored to sing and play during the worship services at Martin Luther's “Castle Church” in Wittenburg; and then they traveled on to Bach’s "St. Thomas Church" in Leipzig.  Next was Sweden, home of the Lindsborg Swedes' antecedants.  Here they sang and played at places of significance to the early Lindsborg's Bethany Church and Bethany College Swedes, i.e. to Pastors Olof Olsson and Carl Aaron Swensson, such as the Uppsala Cathedral, in the city of Uppsala, a 40 minute or so bus ride from Stockholm.   Then, they were off on a 5 hour bus ride south to the Värmland region, to Lindsborg founder and Bethany Church founder Pastor Olsson's Sunnemo Church in Värmland, from where he and his small flock began their immigrating journey to America and to the Kansas Smoky Valley in 1869.  Here at Sunnemo Church Dr. Lucas' Bethany College's Choir and Handbell Ensemble were privileged to perform!   Previously to this European tour, their American performance tours included Colorado, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and New York City. 

Choir tours "like these" were begun with the eighteenth Bethany College Oratorio Society Conductor Dr. Elmer Copley who was at Bethany for 29 years, from 1960 to 1988.  However, in 1918, under twelfth conductor Dr. Hagbard Brase whose tenure was for 31 years, from 1915-1946, the first Oratorio Society train tour took place at Camp Funston, Fort Riley, near Junction City, Kansas, for an audience of 4,000 or more soldiers.  The train, with 11 coaches of chorus and orchestra members and pastors, left Lindsborg to give an inspirational performance of hope to these young men going off to war.  Several more Dr. Brase Oratorio Society train tours followed.

There is no doubt that Dr. Lucas will continue to promote future tours, once the Pandemic is under control and peace is restored between Ukraine and Russia.  Pre-pandemic, Dr. Lucas had already drafted a four-year tour plan.

From Dr. Lucas' website under a main section Music at Bethany in the subsection Bethany Choir and Bells Tour, we read, "We believe that a Choir and Handbell tour should serve as the living embodiment of the mission of the college and should reflect its core values.  This is why each day on tour a different group selected from the ensembles leads the group in devotionals, and why each trip includes a service project. We believe, as does Bethany College, in the development of the whole person."  This form of worship may very well be a carryover from the Messiah organizer Mrs. Alma Swensson who started her Oratorio Society rehearsals first with prayer. 

For Lindsborg and Bethany College, the silver lining of this most deadly 2020 pandemic was the need to use live streaming so as not to miss a year of sharing their annual Easter Messiah performance since it started in 1882.  This, in turn, created a new world stage for a new world audience!  And, in so doing, Dr. Lucas has become a new world pioneer Messiah conductor who is leading the way in using new technology that will be spreading the good news through the inspirationally moving Handel's Messiah and Bach's St. Matthew Passion from the Lindsborg Bethany College Oratorio Society.

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​Go Here to ​Mark Lucas:  Conductor, Educator, Musician.
Dr. Mark Lucas
Martin Luther's Castle Church
Leipzig, Germany, 2018
Picture
Courtesy Dr. Mark Lucas
More on the Lindsborg Bethany College Messiah history and related information can be found as follows:

Go Here to Olsson's Influence, the Swenssons,' the Musicians' and Singers' "Messiah,"1882 on ... 
Go Here to 
Their “1882 on . . .” Bethany College Handel’s “Messiah" Performances
Go Here to "Messiah" Performers, Venues & Audiences, Press and Broadcasts
Go Here to Special 20th Century Messiah Performances by the Bethany College Oratorio Society
Go Here to ​
Handel's "Messiah" & Bach's "St. Matthew's Passion" ~ Described for viewers unfamiliar with these                                   oratorios
Go Here to Bethany College "Messiah Auditorium" / "Ling Auditorium" / "Ling Gymnasium" 1895 - 1946
Go Here to 
​Samuel Thorstenberg ~ Remembering him as the "earliest" internationally acclaimed Bethany College                               "Messiah Chorus" conductor
Go Here to Dr. ​Hagbard Brase ​~ Remembering him as the second "earliest" internationally acclaimed Bethany College                       "Messiah Chorus" conductor
Go Here to Dr. ​& Mrs. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering them and their 29 years of dedication to that Bethany College                              "Messiah" tradition of excellence 
Go ​Here to Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the “Messiah” conductor for the Bethany College "Swedish                                 King’s," Carl XVI Gustaf's, performance, 1976
Go Here to Dr. Elmer Copley ~ Remembering him as the "Messiah" conductor for the Bethany College "Centennial                             Celebration" performance, 1981 
Go Here to Mrs. Alma Christina Lind Swensson ~ Remembering her as Mrs. Rev. Dr. Swensson, the "First Lady" of                               Lindsborg, organizer of the "Messiah Chorus," and much more ~ From Ms. Humphrey's Book


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2018
Sweden
European Traveling Conductor Dr. Lucas and the Bethany College Choir
Picture
Courtesy of Bethany College Oratorio Society "Messiah" conductor Dr. Mark Lucas
Sources:  Mark Lucas Biography and Fourth Swedish American Bethany College President Emory Lindquist's 1975,  Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college.
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